Hi. Asking in behalf of my partner. He is an international student studying cookery. He works as as cook before and now as a chef. Can he deduct his tuition fee on his tax return?
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Hi @Imarb,
There's a sufficient connection between the course and his job, so if he was working and studying cookery at the same time, he can claim a deduction.
I’d advise you to take a look at Self-education expenses, to understand the conditions of claiming and what can be claimed.
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Hi @Imarb,
There's a sufficient connection between the course and his job, so if he was working and studying cookery at the same time, he can claim a deduction.
I’d advise you to take a look at Self-education expenses, to understand the conditions of claiming and what can be claimed.
ATO requires the INTENTION TO STUDY (ie cookery) was WHILE WORKING in their fields (ie hospitality) to improve their skills/knowledge or increase their salary etc in their current work.
Student visa holders’ INTENTION TO STUDY (ie cookery) was PRIOR TO GAINING WORKING RIGHTS in Australia. They could NOT WORK (ie hospitality), NO EMPLOYMENT ACTIVITIES and NOT EMPLOYED (excludes illegal work if onshore) in Australia when they intended to enrol and study (incurred tuition expenses) as they need their student visa approved first before they could work in any industry.
Therefore, without their student visa approved, they can’t work and can’t live in Australia. So there’s NO CONNECT as their studies (student visa) came first before they could gain working rights and work in any industry in Australia.
When you can't claim a deduction
You can't claim a deduction for a self-education expense if, at the time you incur the expenses:
- it doesn't have a sufficient connection to your employment activities at that time
- you are not employed
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